Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Reeled products such as adhesive tapes, aluminum foils, and toilet papers, pose a unique trouble while they are dispensed from their roll. By virtue of being packed in a rolled manner, dispensing them becomes a tedious task as far as locating the ends or tearing them for customized use is concerned. Typical dispensers such as tape dispensers address this issue by having a cutting edge that facilitates tearing of the tape at the desired length. Even though, this arrangement is convenient, many of such dispensers do not have the facility to prevent spontaneous reattachment of the tape end back to the reel whereby re-locating the end is often difficult.
Typically, there are two types of dispensers, namely small dispensers for cutting a small measure of the tape like the desktop and table top dispensers, in which user holds the glue side of the tape, pulls it, and cuts using the fixed edge. Second type being used for bulky dispensers that are used to do carton boxes where the blade cuts the tape from the non-glue side.
These dispensers are further heavy or bulky, being much larger than the roll they accommodate. These devices are mostly designed as table top devices. Attempts have been made to provide a dispenser for holding a reel so that it is easy to tear the reel and still retain its end separated from the roll. These attempts were not highly successful particularly because such an arrangement would have required different dispensers for each size of the reel.
Use of clip dispensers has largely negated the bulkiness aspect associated with traditional dispensers, but the problem with a typical clip dispenser is that they cannot provide constant and positive holding three with the decreasing thickness of the reel layers. It is further noticed that when the size of the reel is minimum the clips of the dispenser runs the risk of being released from the crust of the reel. It is further noticed that such dispensers will tear and deform the edges of the sides of the reel while the dispenser slides through the reel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,276 discloses a compact tape shear, which is a plastic material that is transversely strapped around the tape roll and its core. The shear comprises a locking tongue and a cutting edge. However, the holding force provided by the shear of the '276 patent decreases with the decreasing thickness of tape layers, resulting in loss of stability. This eventually translates into an ineffective functioning of cutting edge and hence the shear.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,580 disclose a tape dispenser which is held in position by engaging the sides of the tape roll only. The '580 patent specifically discloses a dispenser having two flank sections located on either sides and these flanks are clipped onto the reeled tape in a radial direction. However, the '580 patent does not provide answers to the issues of loosing the holding forces with decreasing the thickness of the reel. The design of the dispenser of the '580 patent also pose a risk of the dispenser getting detached from the tape while tearing the tape.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,403 discloses a bag dispenser, for separating and dispensing plastic bags where one end of the plastic bag is attached to top of the next bag by perforation lines. The dispenser comprising a wire frame formed into arcuate channels to support core that the series of bags are rolled onto. The dispenser includes a second tensioning member attached to a support member and disposed at an angle thereto to provide tension to the edges of the roll of bags as the core passes through the channel passageway as bags are removed from the roll. Spaced apart from the support is a symmetric separating tongue. The dispenser of '403 does not have any cutting means as the bags are attached to next bag by a perforated lines, and therefore cannot be universally used for all reeled products.
U.S. Patent number US20080135181 an adhesive tape dispenser with improved cutting operation of the adhesive tape at a lower part of a case body. The adhesive tape dispenser includes a case body having a body case formed with a holding part to mount an adhesive tape inside, a coupling case coupled with the body case and formed with an assembling space at a rear part, and a cover case formed with a fitting piece at a front part to be coupled in the assembling space. The case body is formed with a mounting hole at a front part and an exposure space at an upper part of the mounting hole. A cutter part is mounted in a mounting hole of the case body. An elastic pressing plate is positioned at an upper part of the holding part for pressing the adhesive tape downward elastically to keep tension when the adhesive tape is released. The dispenser of '181 suffers from drawback of too many parts and complicated construction.
U.S. Patent Application number US2010/0193539 discloses a dispenser for length material, the dispenser comprises a first resiliently biased locking roller and a second locking roller defining a nip there between for the passage of length material to be dispensed, the second roller being carried on a frame which upon appropriate movement causes the second roller to move into a locking position in relation to the first locking roller to clamp the length material to prevent unreeling or return of the free end thereto once appropriate cutting of a portion of the length material has been effected. The dispenser of '539 also suffers from drawback of too many parts and complicated construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,141 discloses a tape dispensing device formed as a unitary body includes a central dispensing portion with a slot through which tape is withdrawn and wing members integrally connected to opposite sides of the dispensing member and arranged to fold along opposite sides of a roll of tape material to form a saddle-like arrangement; a retainer holds the dispensing member against the outer surface of the roll, and a cutter member formed as an integral part of the dispenser can be moved, as through the use of the thumb and index finger of one hand, into operative position for severing a length of tape while leaving a portion of the tape remaining on the roll extending through the slot for easy grasping when the next length of tape is to be withdrawn. The tape dispensing device of '141 suffers from drawback that it cannot automatically adjust for reducing thickness of roll of tape and has to be manually adjusted to prevent looseness of the dispenser over the roll of the tape.
Great Britain Patent number GB771834 discloses a tape dispenser mounted on a coil of tape so as to be free to slide relatively around the coil, comprises a part adapted to bear on the outer periphery of the coil and another part adapted to bear on the inner periphery, the two parts being resiliently interconnected, e.g. by wire arms, and being arranged so that the dispenser will be maintained in firm contact with the coil at all times as the diameter of the coil is reduced, and a severing blade carried by the first mentioned part. The tape dispenser of '834 suffers from drawback that insertion of roll of tape would require considerable effort and time.
Australian Patent number AU1786367 discloses an adhesive tape dispenser comprising two leg sections joined at one end by a body section to form a generally U-shaped member adapted to straddle a tape roll, the other end of each leg having means for slidable attachment to the tape reel on which the roll is wound, the body section comprising a cutting edge and a tape holding member over which the tape is drawn during the cutting action. The tape holding member comprises a shoulder spaced from the cutting edge and to which the end of the tape on the roll is stuck after the cutting action. The adhesive tape dispenser of '367 suffers from drawback that it cannot automatically adjust for reducing thickness of roll of tape and has to be manually adjusted to prevent looseness of the dispenser over the roll of the tape.
The portable dispensers of the existing art though addressed the issue of size and weight but suffer from one or other drawback. Specifically, none of them has flexibility to dispense the reeled product in different configurations to enable cutting of the reeled product from either side i.e. from bottom side or top side so as to enable universal application.
It is, therefore, a need in the art to create a portable and detachable dispenser that has flexibility to dispense the reeled product in different configurations to enable cutting of the reeled product from either side i.e. from bottom side or top side so as to enable universal application, apart from providing a uniform cutting and reel locating means, a constant and positive holding force at all stages and all thicknesses of the reel. A dispenser of such a nature must not be dislodged at any instance unless specifically pulled out of the reel. Further, such a dispenser must be light weight and convenient to use to make it suitable for use by children and disabled persons. It would be further advantageous if the dispenser could also brand the dispensed reeled product at time of dispensing according to need of its user.
All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as concentration, reaction conditions, and so forth, used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the invention are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable. The numerical values presented in some embodiments of the invention may contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.
As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention.
Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all Markush groups used in the appended claims.